Cause-Specific Mortality Trends in Two Caucasian Countries since the Early 1980s

Géraldine Duthé, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)
Irina Badurashvili, Georgian Centre of Population Research
Karine Kuyumjyan, National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia
Jacques Vallin, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED)

In the context of the unfavourable mortality trends observed in the former Soviet republics, Caucasian countries experience a specific evolution. In this region, civil registration of vital events remains incomplete. We re-estimated mortality levels and trends in Armenia and Georgia since the early 1980s, confirming specific common mortality patterns in the two countries. To what extent are differences in life expectancy levels and trends associated with the specific cause-of-death patterns? Providing continuous series of deaths by cause may deal with changes in the classification of causes of death during the Soviet period and even later. To do so, we used a method based on the detailed examination of the medical content of the cause of death and statistical continuity. This paper aims to present cause-specific mortality trends in both countries since the early 1980s and discusses issues related to the pathway of the health transition in the Caucasus.